About eight months ago, she was still a reserve with the Junior Team and was not allowed to go to the U21 European Championships. A choice that hurt her a lot. Now Maud van den Heuvel (19) is suddenly training with the big Oranje. A lightning development for the talented SCHC attacker, who has worked her way up in record time.
We speak to Maud van den Heuvel after the topper between Den Bosch and SCHC. Of course she wants to talk. She has a lot to talk about. Her world was briefly turned upside down last month. Yet that euphoria does not take away the double feeling of Sunday afternoon. She had so much wanted to win against the arch-rival.
‘We showed good field hockey and a fighting mentality at times. We want to radiate that together. And we also played really good hockey at times,’ the teenager looked back on the match. Playing with passion is something that is written on Van den Heuvel’s body. If things get exciting, she gets the crowd excited or – as is her trademark – throws out a fine pirouette. ‘We had some really big chances at the end. In that we have to be calmer and kill more. And then you win this pot.’
Maud van den Heuvel Sunday afternoon against Den Bosch. Photo: Bart Scheulderman
Also scoring in top games for twice gold
Winning was also the goal, of course. Because SCHC has big ambitions again this season. Van den Heuvel has a lot of confidence in her team, but knows where there is still room for improvement. Especially this period, where SCHC meets Den Bosch, then Amsterdam and then starts the EHL. ‘Normally we score a lot. We scored the most goals in the big league. But we have to start doing that in top games as well. Keep calm in the circle and keep an overview. We have enough quality to make them.’
Double gold is the goal. ‘We play the EHL in three weeks. I really, really want to win that one. Chances are that we will play the quarterfinals against Den Bosch again. And who knows, maybe later during the play-offs as well. So we have to win two more times. I want to become champion twice.’
Maud van den Heuvel is in her second season at Stichtsche. In the ironclad offensive line of SCHC (five attackers from Bilthoven are in the current training group of Oranje) Van den Heuvel was good for nine goals. That’s already five more than a year earlier. ‘I play field hockey in a great team with great field hockey players around me. That also makes me better myself. And now that is being rewarded. I think that’s really cool.
She played her last cap with U18
Because last month Van den Heuvel was suddenly called by national coach Raoul Ehren. He wanted to invite her to join the national team as a trainee. For four weeks she was allowed to get a taste of the Dutch team during the weekly training sessions, then the Orange balance sheet was drawn up. I found the first week super exciting. Now I find it especially super fun. It is something new. I was completely in a daze after Raoul invited me. I really didn’t expect it. I’m still young. I’m still in the Dutch Junior Team. And I’ve never played a tournament with that.’
Maud van den Heuvel during her first Orange training. Photo: Willem Vernes
So her last ‘cap’ dates back to Dutch U18. And that is special. Because during the European Junior Championship in Terrassa, Van den Heuvel was not with the team. She was designated as a reserve by coach Kai de Jager and therefore did not travel to Spain. Something the talent found hard to swallow. ‘That was very painful for me,’ she says. ‘I just thought I had done a good first season at SCHC, but apparently it wasn’t good enough.’ After the disappointment, she decided one thing. To prove to herself that she does belong. ‘I have no influence on the choices, but I resolved then that this would never happen to me again.’
Nothing is impossible for Van den Heuvel
Never before has she played an official minute for the Dutch Junior Team, and now she’s getting a taste of the best team in the world. Apparently things can go that fast if your name is Maud van den Heuvel. Secretly the dreaming about tournaments has already begun. Because a World Cup with Under 21 awaits at the end of this year, but in the summer the Dutch Team plays the European Championship. A double? Duco Telgenkamp managed that in 2023, for example.
‘The European Championship would be fantastic. But I’m not working on it. At the end of the year there is a World Cup with the Dutch Junior Team. Nothing is impossible, but if I have learned anything, it is that you can only influence hard work, playing good field hockey and enjoying yourself.’
Maud van den Heuvel last played in the ‘Oranje’ in U18. Photo: Willem Vernes
by Hockey.nl
